Written by

Rob McCurdy

CentralOhio.com

COLUMBUS — Thad Matta was out of answers this week in Buffalo. The riddle that was Ohio State men’s basketball this season confounded the coach to the final second of the season.

“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s kind of been this team this year,” Matta said Thursday when asked why the Buckeyes struggled to find consistency against Dayton in a 60-59 loss in a South Region second-round game in the NCAA Tournament.

“As I told them after the game, truth be told, we probably shouldn’t have been in this position from the standpoint of some games that we lost throughout the season.”

The Buckeyes looked like a Final Four-caliber team for the first 15 games. Ohio State put together a gritty road effort at Marquette, played brilliantly against Maryland and Nebraska, staged a miraculous comeback in Madison Square Garden against Notre Dame and took care of business against the overmatched on their schedule.

The Buckeyes were undefeated and third-ranked thanks to sharing the ball on offense and playing lockdown defense. It was all-for-one and one-for-all basketball. Penetration and spacing led to open looks. Ball pressure and help led to fastbreaks.

Then gradually it changed in January. A furious rally came up short at Michigan State. Iowa had no trouble against the Ohio State defense. Minnesota and Nebraska were too good to falter when the Buckeyes were having bad nights. Finally, losing a late lead to Penn State at home robbed Ohio State of its mojo for good.

The results were better in February, but the play on the court wasn’t. Another loss to the lowly Nittany Lions and Indiana confirmed it.

For the first time in at least five years, a Matta team didn’t get better. The coach who could push the buttons on other teams to snap them out of bad stretches ran out of buttons. The Buckeyes limped home with a 10-10 record — the epitome of mediocrity.

“You have 10 losses on the season, and you’ve led nine of them in the second half,” Matta said. “The other one that you lose, you’re down one with eight minutes to go. I wish I had the answer for you. I would have used it about a month ago.”

It defied logic. They were loaded with talent and experience from teams that won championships and played in a Final Four, an Elite Eight and a Sweet 16. Turns out Deshaun Thomas and Evan Ravenel meant more than anyone could have guessed.

“I’ve always predicated a team on how they practice, and this may be one of the best practiced teams I’ve ever had,” Matta said. “You know, an interesting phenomenon.”

Another interesting phenomenon: with the exception of junior forward LaQuinton Ross, no one grew as a player this season.

Seniors Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. put the student in student-athlete, but at times were missing the athlete part.

For all the hype Craft earned as a defensive standout, that’s how big a liability he was on offense. He wasn’t talented enough to finish his drives consistently, never was good at recognizing mismatches and passing opportunities, proved shaky in late-game situations and his jump-shot mechanics melted like a burning candle during the course of four seasons.

Smith struggled to finish around the rim and his 1,000 career points are some of the least impactful in Ohio State history. For as much run as he got on the court, he rarely hit a big shot.

Then there’s the junior class, a group of which much was promised when they landed on campus but of which little has been delivered.

Ross was the team’s most consistent player, but it wasn’t until the calendar turned to March he matched his potential.

Sam Thompson and Shannon Scott were teasers. For every 19-point game like against the Golden Gophers for Thompson and 18-point game like against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament for Scott, there were loads more games of low single digits. Thompson was guilty of empty minutes for vast stretches, and Scott’s playmaking and decision making was questionable in the second half of the season.

Amir Williams, the 6-foot-11 McDonald’s All-American in high school, was a non-factor in more than half the games this season. That’s being generous. During the final 10 games, his production was non-existent.

Trey McDonald plays hard, but he’s better suited to be the backup to the backup big man. Sophomore Amedeo Della Valle came to Columbus via Italy with the reputation of being a shooter, but percentages of 35, 32 and 66 from the floor, arc and line suggest otherwise. Freshman forward Marc Loving didn’t produce like a Mr. Basketball, and his minutes suffered as the season unfolded.

But it’s also a player problem and each one should be held accountable.

Why did Craft let his shot go from bad to worse? Why did Smith struggle with consistency on his jumper and finishes around the rim? Why did it take Ross most of the season to get comfortable in his role? Why are Thompson and Scott largely the same players they were two years ago? Why did Williams lope through another season? Why was McDonald a 33 percent free-throw shooter? Why was Della Valle inconsistent? Why was Loving ineffectual?

There were no good answers for these questions and everything else that ailed the Buckeyes. That’s why this team was so confounding.